In Memory of Daniel Evans
Born in Llandudno in 1894, Daniel Evans attended Bodafon, Lloyd Street and Dyffryn Road schools, writes Adrian Hughes. Daniel and his parents, Hugh and Mary, lived on the Great Orme, at 2 Belle Vue Terrace.
Aged 15, Daniel left school and worked for a local chemist as an errand boy. On turning 18, Daniel volunteered for the Royal Navy, enlisting for an initial period of 12 years, and was sent to the Stokers and Engine Room Artificers School at Devonport, Plymouth. There he was taught all about the mechanics and smooth operating of a warship’s engine. On successfully passing the course, he was posted to HMS Amphion, a brand-new cruiser launched in 1913.
At the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August 1914, HMS Amphion was based at Harwich, on England’s east coast. Two days later, it struck a sea mine in the Thames Estuary and sank with the loss of 132 matelots - the first Royal Navy ship sunk in the war. Daniel was one of the lucky sailors who were rescued.
After convalescing at Devonport and Portsmouth, he was posted to HMS Milne. In 1915, Daniel was invalided out of the Senior Service after being diagnosed with chorea – a neurological disorder – and returned to his home at Llandudno.
Regardless of his disability, Daniel’s patriotism compelled him to enlist into the Royal Garrison Artillery and he was sent to the Western Front. In France, he was gassed in the trenches and returned to Llandudno to convalesce. In January 1919 he was medically discharged out of the armed forces for a second time. Later that year he was admitted to Llandudno’s cottage hospital on Trinity Avenue and died there on 2nd October 1919, aged 25. He is buried at Llanrhos churchyard.
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